Nourishment From ‘The Two Tables’

Fr. Ray at 'the first table'

(Corpus Christi 2010 (C): This homily was given on June 5, 2010 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; Luke 9:11b-17.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Corpus Christi 2010]

Where are these two tables?

From the first table comes instruction; from the second the power to live the instruction.

From the first table hearts are consoled; from the second hearts are healed.

From the first table mysteries are explained; from the second mysteries are experienced.

From the first table sins are revealed; from the second sins are forgiven.

From the first table the Light shines on our lives; from the second the Light enters us, body and soul.

So—where are these two tables?

The answer is right in front of you—literally right in front of you!

The first “table” mentioned in that reflection is otherwise known as the pulpit: the place from which the word of God is preached. In fact, one of the documents of Vatican II—the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, in paragraph 51—uses the expression “the table of God’s word” when speaking of the proclamation of the Scriptures that takes place at holy Mass.

(So I can’t take credit for being original with the idea. The reflection I just shared with you on “the two tables” is original, but the idea of the pulpit as a kind of table comes from the official teaching of the Church, not from yours truly!)

The second “table,” of course, is otherwise known as the altar—the altar of sacrifice—where the Holy Eucharist is consecrated; where Jesus Christ becomes present to us and for us, body, blood, soul and divinity.

The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, which we heard in today’s gospel, foreshadowed the nourishment that Jesus would give us from this second table. (That’s why it’s read on Corpus Christi Sunday.)

And so, if someone asked you to give them a simple and clear definition of the Mass, you could say to them that the Mass is “the place where God’s people are nourished from two tables”—and you would be correct.

This, incidentally, is one reason why it is so spiritually harmful to be chronically late for Mass. For proper spiritual nourishment, we need the “food” that comes to us from BOTH of these tables! When you are consistently late for Mass, missing part or all of the Liturgy of the Word, you are depriving yourself of the spiritual nourishment that comes to you from the first table. You are weakening (or at least you are failing to strengthen) your personal faith. Remember, in Romans 10 St. Paul says that faith comes through “hearing,” and what is heard is the word of Christ.

Some Catholics have the idea that the Bible is for Protestants, and the Eucharist is for Catholics, so the first part of the Mass (the Liturgy of the Word) really isn’t all that important.

That is so wrong! For Catholics it’s not either the Bible OR the sacraments; for real Catholics who know and accept the truths of their faith it’s the Bible AND the sacraments!

That’s why entering into BOTH parts of the Mass is so crucial!

The same point, therefore, is to be made about those who leave Mass early—right after Communion. Because they don’t take the time to try to “commune” with Jesus in prayer after they receive his body and blood, they deprive themselves of nourishment from the second table!

Which brings me back to the reflection I shared at the beginning of my homily. I started off by saying, “From the first table comes instruction; from the second the power to live the instruction.” If we’re only being nourished from one of these tables during holy Mass, either we will not know the truth as we should (because we will miss out on the instruction God is giving us that day through his word), or we will know the truth in our mind but lack the power to live it—the power that comes from a worthy and fruitful reception of Holy Communion (or the power that comes from a “spiritual communion” for those who for one reason or another cannot physically receive).

The second point of the reflection was rendered as follows: “From the first table hearts are consoled; from the second hearts are healed.”

If you say “yes” in your heart to the word of God that is proclaimed from the pulpit at Mass, you will experience consolation. And that’s true even if the message that’s given is a tough one—because it will lead to repentance, and sincere repentance brings consolation and peace.

The Eucharist, on the other hand, not only brings us a message of consolation, it actually brings us the grace of consolation—since Jesus, the consoler, is present there sacramentally. And that consolation brings healing into our hearts. It can also bring healing, at times, into our bodies.

The third point I made was this one: “From the first table mysteries are explained; from the second mysteries are experienced.”

“Divine mysteries” are the sacred truths of our faith. They’re called “mysteries” because they relate to God, whom we can understand partially but not completely.

The fourth point: “From the first table sins are revealed; from the second sins are forgiven.”

Have you ever been “convicted” of a sin when you heard a particular homily or a particular passage of Scripture during Mass?

If you haven’t, then you haven’t been listening! I get convicted all the time—which is great, if I have the good sense to repent afterward!

And that repentance can actually bring me forgiveness during Mass itself—if I also sincerely repent of my sin after I receive Holy Communion.

Many Catholics are not aware of the fact that the Eucharist has the potential to bring us forgiveness for our sins, if we have the right disposition in our heart when we receive.

That’s great news, isn’t it?

Of course, that’s only for our venial sins! Any mortal sins that we have need to be brought to the confessional.

Finally, I said in my meditation: “From the first table the Light shines on our lives; from the second the Light enters us, body and soul.”

This reminds us that as Catholics we don’t have to go through life confused about who we are, and what life is all about, and where we’re going, and what God expects of us while we’re here on earth. We can know all of those things if we listen to—and internalize—the message of God’s revealed word. And we can have the power to live this way—to live in the Light of God’s truth—if we worthily receive the eternal Light (Jesus) in the Holy Eucharist on a regular basis, and are open to the graces of the sacrament.

All that having been said, let me conclude this morning by sharing with you my personal prayer for this Mass. My personal prayer is that all of us will be “Two Table Catholics,” who are fully-nourished and fully-equipped to know the faith, and live the faith, and spread the faith—especially to the spiritually malnourished people that all of us encounter each and every day.

The Benefits of Forgiveness

(Seventh Sunday of Easter (C): This homily was given on May 16, 2010 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Acts 7: 55-60.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Seventh Sunday of Easter 2010]

The last act of St. Stephen was to forgive. He forgave the people who were stoning him to death, and asked God to forgive them as well. As we heard a few moments ago, the final words he spoke were directed to the Lord on behalf of his murderers! He said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

He called their act a sin; he implicitly recognized the fact that it was unfair and unjust—but he still forgave!

This shows us that even though forgiveness is difficult—sometimes EXTREMELY DIFFICULT—it is not impossible! If Stephen could forgive his murderers—as he was in the process of being murdered by them—then we, by the grace of God, can forgive the people who have hurt us in our lives.

But it’s not a magical process! That’s important for us to realize. It wasn’t that way for Stephen, nor is it that way for anyone else. Forgiveness doesn’t just happen. In order to forgive, we must first of all want to forgive, as St. Stephen wanted to forgive!

In this regard, it’s very helpful to recognize some of the positive benefits of forgiving others. Let’s face it, most people will not want to forgive, unless they understand that forgiveness is actually beneficial: beneficial to them personally; beneficial to their families; beneficial to their relationships in general.

This is something, thankfully, that even people in the secular world are beginning to realize and understand: that forgiveness, although difficult, brings many blessings into our lives. I found an article the other day, for example, on the web site of the Mayo Clinic that listed the following benefits of forgiveness: healthier relationships; greater spiritual and psychological well-being; less stress and hostility; lower blood pressure; fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and chronic pain; and lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse (see “Forgiveness: Letting Go of Grudges and Bitterness,” by Mayo Clinic Staff).

On another secular web site, a psychologist mentioned 3 studies that were done that yielded the following results:

“One study from the Journal of Behavioral Medicine found forgiveness to be associated with lower heart rate and blood pressure as well as stress relief. This can bring long-term health benefits for your heart and overall health.

‘A later study found forgiveness to be positively associated with five measures of health: physical symptoms, medications used, sleep quality, fatigue, and somatic complaints. It seems that the reduction in negative affect (depressive symptoms), strengthened spirituality, conflict management and stress relief one finds through forgiveness all have a significant impact on overall health. (This is why many people have experienced physical healings when they have finally forgiven someone they needed to forgive.)

‘A third study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, found that forgiveness not only restores positive thoughts, feelings and behaviors toward the offending party (in other words, forgiveness restores the relationship to its previous positive state), but the benefits of forgiveness spill over to positive behaviors toward others outside of the relationship. Forgiveness is associated with more volunteerism, donating to charity, and other altruistic behaviors. (And the converse is true of non-forgiveness.)” (from “The Benefits of Forgiveness,” by Elizabeth Scott, M.S.)

Of course, as good as all these earthly benefits are, Catholics know that they pale in comparison to the ultimate and most important personal benefit of the forgiveness of others: forgiveness for ourselves, and eternal life!

Remember, God’s forgiveness of us is conditional on our willingness to forgive our brothers and sisters!

I hope no one is surprised by that fact. After all, we implicitly agree to it every time we say the Lord’s Prayer (as we will in a few minutes at this Mass!). I’m talking about the line where we say, “Forgive us our trespasses, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESSPASS AGAINST US.”

Immediately after he taught his disciples the Our Father in Matthew 6, Jesus said the following: “If you forgive the faults of others, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours. If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you.” (Matthew 6: 14)

Interesting, isn’t it? The only petition of the Our Father that Jesus elaborated on was the one that had to do with forgiveness!

That’s not a coincidence! Jesus knew what we needed to hear!

Heaven opened immediately for St. Stephen (as we heard a few moments ago) because he had no unforgiveness in his heart. None whatsoever. By the grace of God, he let it go (or never let it in in the first place!), so there was nothing blocking his passage into the kingdom.

If there is any unforgiveness in our heart right now toward anyone, today is the day to begin doing something about it! Remember, forgiveness is not an emotion, it’s a decision. It’s also, quite frequently, a process. (That’s especially true if the hurt we’ve experience from the other person is a really deep one—or one that we’ve experienced from them over and over again for many years.)

The important thing is that we’ve begun the process of forgiveness, and are working at it. One place to “work at it” is in prayer—utilizing a tool like the 5 “Forgiveness Steps” I shared in a homily several years ago.

(I think I’ll insert those into the bulletin next week, because I’m sure there are many people in the parish now who were not in the parish back then. And some of you who were here back then might have lost them.)

My prayer is that today’s homily will give each of us some added incentive to work at forgiveness constantly and to never stop—until the day when we each follow St. Stephen into the Lord’s eternal kingdom.

Why 10 Days?

(Ascension Thursday 2010: This homily was given on May 13, 2010 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Acts 1: 1-14; Luke 24: 46-53.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Ascension Thursday 2010]

Why 10 days?

Why did Jesus wait 10 days after his ascension before he sent the Holy Spirit to his apostles and to the other disciples who were gathered together in the Upper Room?

He could have sent them the Spirit immediately after he ascended, while they were still standing there looking up at the sky.

But he didn’t. He let them wait for well over a week.

Now Jesus Christ never acted without a good reason, so there must have been a reason—or a series of reasons—why he chose to conduct himself in this fashion.

So what was it?

Well, the bad news is that we can’t know the answer to that question with absolute certitude!

But we can certainly venture an educated guess or two—which is what I will do very briefly today in this homily. I do this, incidentally, not because I enjoy speculating about things that we can’t know for sure, but rather because I think what the disciples experienced in those 10 days between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday relates to what we often experience in our relationship with God today.

For example, one possible reason why Jesus delayed his sending of the Spirit was to teach his disciples the importance of praying with perseverance. Jesus had promised to send them a gift—a gift that would guide them to all truth; a gift that would give them strength and help and healing in their lives. But they needed to pray for that gift perseveringly in the Upper Room, and not give up after a few hours, or even a few days.

We need to do the same thing, if we want to receive all the blessings God has for us in our lives. As most of us know, the Lord has made some blessings conditional here on earth. We won’t get them if we don’t ask—and ask with perseverance, like these pre-Pentecost disciples.

Another possible reason why Jesus delayed his sending of the Spirit was to teach his disciples that God was in control, not them. God would act when he was ready, not before.

We need to learn the same lesson in our lives. A lot of people these days want God to be their personal “puppet”—when they “pull the strings,” so to speak, they expect him to act immediately and do exactly what they want him to do.

But that’s not the way it works—as these disciples found out.

Perhaps Jesus delayed his sending of the Spirit to teach his disciples that they needed to be patient. (I don’t think I need to elaborate on how that relates to us and our lives.)

Maybe he delayed the Pentecost event to teach them the importance of communal prayer: that there’s great power present when believers come together to pray as a body (like we do here at Mass). Remember, the disciples went back to the Upper Room after the Ascension and spent a lot of time there as a group during the next 10 days. The only other place they spent a lot of time was in the Temple (as we heard in today’s Gospel text from Luke 24). But even in the Temple they were praying. As it says there, they were “continually in the Temple praising God”.

Maybe Jesus didn’t send the Spirit right away to teach his followers the importance of making novenas! As I’ve mentioned in other homilies, the first novena ever made was made by Mary and the apostles between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost. It was, in effect, a novena to the Holy Spirit.

Or maybe Jesus delayed the sending of the Spirit to teach us about the importance and power of Mary’s intercession. Our Blessed Mother was one of those in the Upper Room when the Spirit came at Pentecost (as you can see from our Pentecost stained glass window here in church).

Mary prayed, and something great happened for every disciple who was present and for the whole Church.

Those are just some of the possible reasons why Jesus waited before he poured out the Holy Spirit on his very first followers.

You could probably come up with others, if you spent some time reflecting on it.

But the bottom line is, Jesus didn’t delay things indefinitely. He had promised his faithful followers a gift—he had promised that he would “clothe them with power from on high”—and that’s exactly what he eventually did.

Which is the final and in some sense the most important lesson of the day: When Jesus Christ makes a promise, he ALWAYS keeps it!

Four Things a Good Mother Never Forgets

(Sixth Sunday of Easter (C): This homily was given on May 9, 2010 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Revelation 21: 10-14, 22-23 John 14: 23-29.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Sixth Sunday of Easter 2010]

On Mother’s Day last year, a woman in the parish sent me this little anecdote that someone had sent to her. I don’t know if this really happened or not, but the point of the story is certainly a valid one:

A teacher gave her class of second graders a special lesson on magnets one day. She taught them what a magnet is and what a magnet does. The following day she decided to give the students a little quiz on what they had learned. One of the questions she put on the quiz read as follows: “My name has 6 letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?”

Well, almost half the students got it wrong. Instead of putting ‘magnet’ they answered with the word ‘mother.’

But I think the teacher ultimately gave them all credit for a true answer.

At least, she should have!

Good mothers know a lot about picking up things: toys from the living room floor, dirty clothes from around the hamper, food from the grocery store, her children from school. The list goes on and on.

Good mothers also have good memories—sometimes better than their children would like them to have, but that’s another story!

Along those lines, let me share with you now “Four Things a Good Mother Never Forgets”. These are reflected in the Scripture readings the Holy Spirit has given us this weekend, in particular the second reading and the Gospel.

So here they are . . .

Number 1—the first thing a good mother never forgets: THAT HER CHILDREN ARE NOT REALLY HERS.

A good mother knows that her children ultimately belong to God, not to her or to her husband! Parents “procreate”—that is to say, they co-operate with Almighty God to bring new human beings into the world. But God creates each human soul directly, so each human person belongs to him.

I’m not a big fan of Kahlil Gibran, the pop-philosopher whose writings were very popular in the 1960s, but these words of his to parents contain a great deal of truth:

“Your children are not your children . . . They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts . . . you may house their bodies but not their souls.”

St. John said it even more clearly in his first letter, when he wrote, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

God can dwell within us because we are made in his image and likeness and belong to him.

When a mother forgets this simple truth (that her children are not really hers), she ends up trying to manipulate them into doing her will, which can be disastrous.

This, by the way, is the second thing a good mother never forgets: THAT HER CHILDREN EXIST TO DO GOD'S WILL, NOT HERS.

I thank God from the bottom of my heart that I had a mother who never pressured me into my vocation as a priest. Never! She said to me many times, “I want you to do whatever God wants you to do in your life. If God’s will is for you to be a priest, great—I support you 100%. But if it’s his will that you do something else, then that’s what I want for you as well.”

The worst thing a mother—or father—can do is to impose their will on their child, especially regarding an important decision like the choice of a vocation, or the choice of a spouse—or even the choice of a career.

Those choices should be made by the child—and God!

Which leads us to the third thing a good mother never forgets: THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP HER CHILDREN HAVE IS WITH GOD, NOT HER!

Only God will be there for her child at every moment of every day. Only God knows the right decision for her child to make in every circumstance. As was indicated in today’s Gospel, only God can provide a person with true and lasting peace.

Yesterday we celebrated First Communion at St. Pius for 25 second graders. I wonder how many of them will be in church today with their mothers and fathers. More importantly, I wonder how many of their mothers and fathers will bring them to Mass each and every weekend from now on.

Good Catholic mothers will do that for their children because they know that the relationship their children have with the Lord must be the primary relationship in their lives.

Which brings us to the final thing a good mother never forgets: THAT THE TRUE HOME OF HER CHILDREN IS NOT IN THIS WORLD OR OF THIS WORLD. The true home of her children is the city spoken about in today’s second reading from Revelation 21: the new Jerusalem, or, as we normally call it, heaven!

A good mother teaches her children many things, but the most important lesson she imparts to her children is that the ultimate goal of human life is to live forever with God in his kingdom, and that every decision they make should be made with that goal in view.

Because a good mother knows that if her children ultimately make it into the kingdom of heaven, their lives here on earth will have been successful! But if they miss the kingdom, their earthly lives will have been total failures—even if they made a lot of money and became incredibly famous and powerful while they were here.

So there you have it: four things a good mother never forgets:

• that her children are not really hers
• that her children exist to do God’s will
• that the most important relationship her children have is with God
• that the true home of her children is not in this world or of this world
  

Oh yes, and by the way, these are also four things that A GOOD FATHER never forgets.